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Back to the Gym and Back on the Arc Trainer

I recently got back to the gym. I had been busting my butt and shoulders and arms and legs working in the yard and knew if I did both it wouldn’t end up well. Plus literally having my head stuck in the plants did not help with allergies at all. Wahhhh-chooing at the gym would most likely be frowned upon even though I wipe down my machine once I’m done working out.

While I’m still figuring out my way around the gym, I’ve found a good default – the arc trainer. I felt a bit silly on it in the beginning but that was just being somewhat self-conscious in general. I got over that and then it was easy to figure out – get on, move, keep moving. I haven’t played with all the “buttons” but there is time for that later.

The key element though is I feel like I get a decent workout in a short amount of time. I’ve been trading off visits between the full version with the scary arms that fight back and the lower body one with the pedals that still fight back. I’ll go in with either a set time or a set distance depending on how I’m feeling.

One thing that really helps me is having a good batch of music. I’m a music person. I have some playing now. I listen to it for a good chunk of each and every day. I’m also extremely eclectic. A good example of this is that I’m seeing Dispatch, Linkin Park/Incubus, and Kelly Clarkson/The Fray this summer. I’m the same way with music at the gym. Some songs/bands/singers work and some just don’t. I have a Fergie station on my Pandora account and that usually works. I end up with a tiny amount of skipping and the tempo works for me. The last time it was just not working and right when I’d get into it the next song would be a buzzkill. Good thing I didn’t start muttering “Seriously!?!?!” since other people near me didn’t have on headphones.

My plan is to hunt down a bunch of music I think might work and then try it out. If it makes the cut then I can put together a long and short playlist. So far I have two songs that have already made the cut: Blow by Ke$sha and You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon.